Master of Disaster

Each episode of this exciting series poses a fresh challenge for scientist Tim Samaras and his team: how can they measure the speed of an avalanche, the force of a terrorist blast or the power of a tornado? Tim uses his combination of tried and tested scientific tools alongside his latest measuring creations to further understand and quantify each terrifying event, so that we can learn how to better protect ourselves. In each episode, after reviewing evidence from similar real-life disasters, Tim and his team devise a primary experiment using Tim’s latest inventions; like a device using multiple cameras to film 360 degrees around the event, a sensory enhanced test dummy that will allow the viewer the chance to feel what it’s like to be inside the disaster and high tech “turtles” that will lay in the path of a tornado and record the wind and pressure conditions of the twister. With each scenario, Tim will measure the force, distance, speed and cumulative threat of the event inherent to the disaster. Tim and his team put their latest technology through a series of sub-tests to make sure the technology functions as planned -- and work out any kinks, if it doesn’t. Finally, each episode builds to the big event and reveals how the measurements Tim gathers help people survive these terrifying and probable scenarios. Produced by National Geographic.

Episodes

In the 2007-2008 winter season alone, 52 people died in avalanches in the U.S. and Canada, and more than double that number worldwide. As more and more people head into to unpatrolled backcountry, these numbers are on the rise. In this episode, Tim Samaras will bring his expertise and tools to try and measure the forces inside an avalanche – ...

Although there has never been a suicide bus bomb blast in the United States, experts agree it could happen in any American city, at anytime. A bus bomb attack is a gruesome scene, not only killing people on the bus but also injuring and killing people outside the bus as well; a terrifying scenario that authorities in the United States ...

Building collapses are common throughout the world. They can crumble without warning, and can take tens of thousands of lives in an instant. Whether caused by a tornado, earthquake, an act of terrorism or poor construction, the aftermath of a collapsed building can be just as deadly as the collapse itself. Unstable floors and walls pose hazardous threats to rescue ...